Lord (Tim) Garden

8.06.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 14th Aug 2007

Lord Garden

Lord (Tim) Garden, Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson in the House of Lords, sadly passed away at end of last week. I was fortunate to have met Tim on a number of occasions, although we disagreed on a number of issues always respected each others views.

Sir Menzies Campbell led the tributes by saying "Tim Garden has been an outstanding member of the Liberal Democrat team in the House of Lords where his wisdom and top level military experience were widely recognised. His advice to Charles Kennedy and myself during the Iraq war was invaluable. We have also lost a close friend who was an unfailingly generous and warm-hearted man. The whole party extends its deepest sympathy to his wife and family."

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader in the House of Lords, Lord Wallace of Saltaire said "Tim was both an expert and a radical, he offered invaluable advice on defence and foreign policy. He gave the Liberal Democrats depth in criticising the mistaken policy on Iraq, which was vitally important. He was also a very active parliamentarian, leading an all-party group on defence and conflict issues and on the delegated powers and instruments committee. We will miss him immensely."